Today's DailyOM Offerings...
July 14, 2011
Giving to Yourself First
Iyanla Vanzant
2005
Motivational speaker, life coach, personal development guru-call her what you will, Reverend Iyanla Vanzant is an inspiration. Her tale is one that might have left others living a life of fear and depression or worse. She lost her mother by the age of three, was raped at age nine, became a teen mother at 16, a mother of three by age 21, and then married and beaten from ages 22 to 30. Yet she graduated college at age 34 and graduated law school at 38. She went on to have a remarkably successful publishing career, writing 15 books with five of them topping The New York Times best-seller list. She is an inspiration to many people (her fans include Oprah and Halle Berry). Vanzant and her sister went on to found Inner Visions Worldwide, an organization whose premise is to provide a spiritual education to guide people to positive personal transformation that is founded in love.
With all the troubled relationships Vanzant has experienced in her lifetime, it makes sense that she would champion the relationship with the self as being the most important. In Giving to Yourself First she leads the listener on a guided meditation, but her tone is so nurturing and matter of fact that it almost seems as if she is simply taking the listener by the hand down a path to sensibility. The messages are simple: loving others can only come through self-love and the self-esteem that comes along with it. Though clearly a self-improver, Vanzant revels in and encourages appreciation of the self in its imperfect form as she encourages the listener to repeat “I am that I am.”
Vanzant moves from the micro self to the worldly self on this CD. Her thorough approach ensures that acceptance and love is universal, and her familiar, mellifluous tones create a sense of comfort and security, lulling the listener into seeing the kinder, more welcoming side of the world. Her final elegant meditation repeats the same “I am that I am,” making it a mantra of the book. This time though, as with any mantra, the intention, after an eloquent guidance, is more pure and more likely to be heard. The listener is led into the tranquility and peace that can only come when the heart and soul are at rest.
July 14, 2011
Understand Your Needs
Sagittarius Daily Horoscope
You may feel the need to be extravagant in your transactions today. You may notice that your abundance makes you feel like you have free license to spend on things you don’t need. This may be the result of a feeling of lack in some aspect of your life. Perhaps today you might think more deeply about the issue of desire versus need. Try taking a few moments to make a list of all the material things you would like in your life right now. After each item, determine if it is something you really need to live your daily life or if it is simply something that is taking the place of a deeper emotional longing. You will find that the reasons might reveal a more true need that may be emotional or spiritual in nature.
As we uncover the motives for our spending, we may notice that there are few things we really require. We realize that spending excessively is a way to fill any type of emptiness we may feel, and that finding comfort in material goods is a way to give solace to our emotional needs. When we examine our intentions, we notice that even when we obtain material goods, we are still not fulfilled. By understanding what is driving our needs, we become aware of the issues in our lives that require us to attend to them. Take time to think about what you really need today, and you will give yourself a far richer gift than anything you could purchase.
July 14, 2011
The Weight of Objects
Clearing a Space for Change
We hold onto material objects because we think they make us feel secure, when in reality they are cluttering our lives.
In life, we tend to have an easier time acquiring possessions than we do getting rid of them. Just as we harbor emotional baggage that is difficult to let go of, our lives can tend to be filled with material objects that we may feel compelled to hold on to. Most people are not conscious of how much they own and how many of their possessions are no longer adding value to their life. They fiercely hold on to material objects because this makes them feel secure or comfortable. While it’s true that the ownership of “stuff” can make you feel good for awhile, it seldom satisfies the deep inner longings that nearly everyone has for fulfillment and satisfaction. It is only when we are ready to let go of our baggage and be vulnerable that it becomes possible to recognize the emotional hold that our possessions can have on us.
It’s not uncommon to hold on to material objects because we are attached to them or fear the empty spaces that will remain if we get rid of them. Giving away the souvenirs from a beloved voyage may feel like we are erasing the memory of that time in our life. We may also worry that our loved ones will feel hurt if we don’t keep the gifts they’ve given us. It’s easy to convince ourselves that unused possessions might come in handy someday or that parting with them will cause you emotional pain. However, when your personal space is filled with objects, there is no room for anything new to enter and stay in your life. Your collection of belongings may “protect” you from the uncertainties of an unknown future while keeping you stuck in the past. Holding on to unnecessary possessions often goes hand in hand with holding on to pain, anger, and resentment, and letting go of your material possessions may help you release emotional baggage.
When you make a conscious decision to fill your personal space with only the objects that you need or bring you joy, your energy level will soar. Clearing your personal space can lead to mental clarity and an improved memory. As you learn to have a more practical and temporary relationship to objects, positive changes will happen, and you’ll have space to create the life that you desire.
Giving to Yourself First
Iyanla Vanzant
2005
Motivational speaker, life coach, personal development guru-call her what you will, Reverend Iyanla Vanzant is an inspiration. Her tale is one that might have left others living a life of fear and depression or worse. She lost her mother by the age of three, was raped at age nine, became a teen mother at 16, a mother of three by age 21, and then married and beaten from ages 22 to 30. Yet she graduated college at age 34 and graduated law school at 38. She went on to have a remarkably successful publishing career, writing 15 books with five of them topping The New York Times best-seller list. She is an inspiration to many people (her fans include Oprah and Halle Berry). Vanzant and her sister went on to found Inner Visions Worldwide, an organization whose premise is to provide a spiritual education to guide people to positive personal transformation that is founded in love.
With all the troubled relationships Vanzant has experienced in her lifetime, it makes sense that she would champion the relationship with the self as being the most important. In Giving to Yourself First she leads the listener on a guided meditation, but her tone is so nurturing and matter of fact that it almost seems as if she is simply taking the listener by the hand down a path to sensibility. The messages are simple: loving others can only come through self-love and the self-esteem that comes along with it. Though clearly a self-improver, Vanzant revels in and encourages appreciation of the self in its imperfect form as she encourages the listener to repeat “I am that I am.”
Vanzant moves from the micro self to the worldly self on this CD. Her thorough approach ensures that acceptance and love is universal, and her familiar, mellifluous tones create a sense of comfort and security, lulling the listener into seeing the kinder, more welcoming side of the world. Her final elegant meditation repeats the same “I am that I am,” making it a mantra of the book. This time though, as with any mantra, the intention, after an eloquent guidance, is more pure and more likely to be heard. The listener is led into the tranquility and peace that can only come when the heart and soul are at rest.
July 14, 2011
Understand Your Needs
Sagittarius Daily Horoscope
You may feel the need to be extravagant in your transactions today. You may notice that your abundance makes you feel like you have free license to spend on things you don’t need. This may be the result of a feeling of lack in some aspect of your life. Perhaps today you might think more deeply about the issue of desire versus need. Try taking a few moments to make a list of all the material things you would like in your life right now. After each item, determine if it is something you really need to live your daily life or if it is simply something that is taking the place of a deeper emotional longing. You will find that the reasons might reveal a more true need that may be emotional or spiritual in nature.
As we uncover the motives for our spending, we may notice that there are few things we really require. We realize that spending excessively is a way to fill any type of emptiness we may feel, and that finding comfort in material goods is a way to give solace to our emotional needs. When we examine our intentions, we notice that even when we obtain material goods, we are still not fulfilled. By understanding what is driving our needs, we become aware of the issues in our lives that require us to attend to them. Take time to think about what you really need today, and you will give yourself a far richer gift than anything you could purchase.
July 14, 2011
The Weight of Objects
Clearing a Space for Change
We hold onto material objects because we think they make us feel secure, when in reality they are cluttering our lives.
In life, we tend to have an easier time acquiring possessions than we do getting rid of them. Just as we harbor emotional baggage that is difficult to let go of, our lives can tend to be filled with material objects that we may feel compelled to hold on to. Most people are not conscious of how much they own and how many of their possessions are no longer adding value to their life. They fiercely hold on to material objects because this makes them feel secure or comfortable. While it’s true that the ownership of “stuff” can make you feel good for awhile, it seldom satisfies the deep inner longings that nearly everyone has for fulfillment and satisfaction. It is only when we are ready to let go of our baggage and be vulnerable that it becomes possible to recognize the emotional hold that our possessions can have on us.
It’s not uncommon to hold on to material objects because we are attached to them or fear the empty spaces that will remain if we get rid of them. Giving away the souvenirs from a beloved voyage may feel like we are erasing the memory of that time in our life. We may also worry that our loved ones will feel hurt if we don’t keep the gifts they’ve given us. It’s easy to convince ourselves that unused possessions might come in handy someday or that parting with them will cause you emotional pain. However, when your personal space is filled with objects, there is no room for anything new to enter and stay in your life. Your collection of belongings may “protect” you from the uncertainties of an unknown future while keeping you stuck in the past. Holding on to unnecessary possessions often goes hand in hand with holding on to pain, anger, and resentment, and letting go of your material possessions may help you release emotional baggage.
When you make a conscious decision to fill your personal space with only the objects that you need or bring you joy, your energy level will soar. Clearing your personal space can lead to mental clarity and an improved memory. As you learn to have a more practical and temporary relationship to objects, positive changes will happen, and you’ll have space to create the life that you desire.